Where's this from?

[kai]

Hello Dave,

As I said before, the knife is very basic and it certainly seems more utility than ceremonial to me (unless the ceremony is very low-key!).

The region I'm leaning to as an origin for this piece was pretty poor with small settlements of only very few houses (while other Batak areas were quite rich); some of the ceremonial LPs (evidently worn by spiritual leaders only) are also quite basic.

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what EDC means (every day cooking?). There's a nice patina to the wood so I assume it's been handled a lot.

Every day carry - which, I suppose, includes cooking for at least a part of any population...

Yes, the blade is sturdy and has genuine age to it as do the fittings; the piece may well be antique (tough to tell - the carving is less refined than in many Batak utility pieces). The brass(?) bands of the scabbard may be later replacements (usually braided rattan rings with most utility pieces).

Regards,
Kai